Beautiful Sound

Well, 5 hours ago the girls came to the house. And as soon as they did, the volume level of the household went up 50 notches at least haha. It's so nice having more people in the house. Sarah's always telling stories and making jokes (and talking about poop), Tyler's always trying to prove what a tough guy he is, Grady can be somewhat of a woos and is definitely a momma's boy, and Logan just tries to one up everyone, no matter what it's about, she usually does so by yelling, and Becca sits around sweetly and makes noises and entertains herself when she's in a good mood. But when she's hungry or tired, oh man! She'll grab at anything!! Phone chargers, candles, toy hamsters, fake flowers, the blinds, people's hair...ay yay yay. Oh, but I got the dates for the Colorado trip confirmed today! They're leaving on July 7th and coming back a week after that. So, yeah. I'm glad it's towards the beginning of my time with all of them, cuz then the rest will be a piece of cake!! Or, so I hope.

I made a deal with Sarah that every time she says the word "poop" or anything that has to do with it, she owes me a nickel. At first it was just gonna be a thing between the two of us. But after today, I've decided that I'm gonna do that with all the kids! And not just limit it to poop, but include anything having to do with diarrhea and butts as well. These kids are out of control! One's talking about how everything's poopy, another is calling people butt-faces, others are making other booty jokes or slapping each other's rears, oh my! It's a mad house here! But I must admit, the yelling and laughing and running around really is a beautiful sound :)

And that's life through the eyes of a banana munchkin.

My Stupid Mouth

Ugh, I feel gross. I feel like I had no self control today!! Food-wise. But I did start out real good! And I ended up failing :( Sad day indeed. I woke up bright and early to beat the heat and I went for a 4-mile run. It was super tiring!! It was hot, humid, and hills all the way. Mostly uphill one way so then most of the way back was downhill. That was pretty nice. Anyways, after a long long run, which made me feel really accomplished afterwards, I came back and took a nice shower, stretched, ate an apple and read my book. That book, oh man, it's sooo good!! I couldn't put it down for a good 3 hours! And I'm more than halfway through it already haha. Crazy, huh?

Well, because of my stupid mouth and how much I couldn't seem to control it or what I put in it today, I'm determined to be extra extra healthy the rest of the summer. I just need to remember how disappointed I am in myself when I eat too much...or too much junk food. So, starting tonight, I'm gonna be better :) I already did the plank for 2 minutes, so now I'm gonna do some push ups and side crunches, some jumping jacks, and lots of stretching. And I'm gonna go for a run again tmw cuz that was awesome. And then tomorrow night is when all the chaos starts!! Yikes!! Pray for me, folks :)

That's life through the eyes of a banana munchkin.

It won't be long

Nope, it absolutely won't! Soon enough I'll have more stories to tell and more exciting things to talk about rather than just "i went to the gym" or "hey there's a frog in the road!" among other such non-exciting same ol' same ol' things. Thursday, June 30th, at 6:00 PM I will be picking up the girls from their mom's house and bringing them over here. We'll have a nice dinner (with more than a few poop comments or jokes from Sarah, the 12-year old), maybe go swimming, and then go to bed. And then friday is when all the chaos ensues! I'm actually quite excited. Though I did find out today that I'll be taking care of Bekah, the 11-year old with special needs, for two weeks starting July 7th, I believe. Oy vey! That's a whole 10 days sooner than I originally thought! But that also means that I'll get it over with sooner and then I'll get a week with everyone before the girls go back to their mom's. All these questions keep popping into my head concerning Bekah though, like, when I need to take Fenn (the dog) out to go potty, do I take her with me? Do I put her in her room? Do I only take him when she's napping or sleeping? How do I bathe her? And what about brushing her teeth? Cuz I know she doesn't like the toothpaste. What happens if I run out of food or formula for her to eat?? Oh my goodness, and that's just the beginning of all the questions that I've thought of. But I'm sure they'll give me the rundown of how they do things before they leave, cuz they're thoughtful and considerate and nice people like that haha. And it isn't for another week, so I've got time to observe and learn.

So now my only thing that I can't figure out is, should I go for a run in the morning before people start bursting into flames? Or should I wait and drag the kids to the gym with me? Cuz Matt's leaving for the day (business trip) but I have no clue when that is. So if I don't go running in the morning, I might not be able to go to the gym either cuz Matt will need a ride to the airport. But if I do go running and I can still go to the gym, well, that's not so bad is it? Ok, I've made my decision. Running in the morning and then a possible trip to the gym in the afternoon, before or after Matt leaves. And I think the boys wanted to go swimming tmw night...that could be fun. Cuz I got a new book at the library!! Ted Dekker's "Black". I'm really excited to start reading it :) It's a nice thing to do during the day when I don't feel like working on homework or watching Spongebob Squarepants, Big Time Rush, or Phineas and Ferb. Actually, to be quite honest, I do enjoy Big Time Rush and most of the time I like Phineas and Ferb, too! They're pretty funny haha.

Well, folks, that's life through the eyes of a banana munchkin. Čau!!

Tomorrow

is when all the chaos starts. today was my last day to just relax and enjoy time to myself. It was a decent day, I suppose. I was rudely awoken by a meowing cat and a whimpering dog. I threw on my sunglasses and shoes and took the dog for a quick walk, fed the cat and the dog and then myself. I then went and sat down on the couch and ended up falling asleep for another 2 hours! Who knew I was so tired? It was nice though. I think I slept better on the couch than any other night in the bed! Weird...but it was a great nap. And it was so ironic, cuz later on I watched a couple episodes of FRIENDS and one of them was when Joey and Ross napped together and it was the "best nap I ever had"! Haha, I could relate :)

Before hitting the gym, like I've done almost every day for the past 2 weeks, I went outside with the intention of getting some Vitamin D for the day and reading my Bible in the process. About 5 minutes after I got out there, this huge bee or wasp or hornet kept coming up to my face and going under my arms and it was freaking me out cuz I'm allergic! And I didn't know what the thing was! It wasn't a bee, I know that. It could've been a wasp, but it had no yellow on it. So then I thought it was a hornet, but as I recall, hornets just look like gigantic wasps. So whatever the thing was, it started scaring me so I ran inside. So much for catching some rays! Oh well. I read my Bible inside and ended up journaling for a bit. Something I rarely do.

Anyways, tomorrow the boys get back. And Thursday night we get the girls. And then I have no life apart from 5 kids and 2 animals for at least the month of July, but maybe part of August too. Oy vey...I didn't think this would come so fast. But c'est la vie! And I know the summer will fly by and I'll be back in school and working before I even know it, but the process is going to be tiring and wearisome and busy and loud. I can't wait! :)

That's life through the eyes of a banana munchkin.

Lovely Day

What a great day. I was finally able to get out of the house for the majority of the day, and it felt wonderful. I woke up, did the usual morning duties, relaxed and read my Bible while eating breakfast, and headed to church. It was really nice! I haven't been to church in a while, so it felt really nice to finally go. There's something about going to church that just rejuvenates me! After church I decided to go get some mexican food. I had googled a place about 15 minutes away and was gonna go there after church. Buuuut I'd never been there. And I still haven't!! Haha, on the way over there, I was in the wrong lane and ended up on the freeway going the opposite direction. I was gonna turn around but by the time I got to an off ramp, I was already in the area I started out in hahaha. I was so hungry and desperate for food, that I just decided to stop at Taco Bell. I love their tortillas and even though I don't consider it mexican food, it's still pretty darn good. I then went to Target to get some more mouthwash and cheap disposable razor blades and looked in the clearance section for tanktops or shorts. I don't know why, but it's so hard for me to find clothes that I like and that fit me nicely at Target. So I left with no new clothes...oh well! I came back and laid out in the sun for about 30-45 minutes and it felt nice. It was hot and humid and I was sweating like no other, but there was a nice breeze that kept me cool.

I think I might go for a walk later when the sun goes down. I love being outside...even when it's hot. And even though it's humid, I'm able to cope with that better than the dry heat in Arizona. Why is that, I wonder? Hmm...I have no clue. But I like it :) It was, indeed, a lovely day.

And life is wonderful through the eyes of a banana munchkin.

You are not alone

Oh the wise words of Michael Jackson. Today was a bad day. I sat around, did some homework, watched waaaay too much TV and went to the gym. It's a good thing I ended up going to the gym, even though it was a lot later than I originally planned, cuz I would've gone stir crazy in this house. I now know for sure that there's no way I could live by myself. Even though I'd most likely have a job and friends and other people to hang out with and places to go, coming back to an empty house is terrible. I guess it's not completely empty though, cuz there is the dog and cat. But the cat, well, she's a cat. She goes off and sleeps on her own and only comes down to eat or smell what I'm cooking. And the dog is obsessed with his tennis ball, which stinks and is slimey and I'm just never in the mood for it. a lot of the time I feel really lonely cuz I'm all alone. But then I remember that there are people in my life who are willing to talk to me on the phone or respond to my text messages. And I also think of the future, when I'll be living with 5 wonderful women and I'll have people around me all the time. So as lonely as it can be to be alone, I try to enjoy myself as much as possible. It's hard, but I know it could be worse. I'm so thankful for my cellphone. And even though I'm pretty sure Michael Jackson was thinking something else when writing this song, I know that I'm not ever alone. Because God's always with me. And that's such a comforting thought, even on bad days like today.

Well, I'm gonna see if I can fall asleep within an hour of getting into bed. Something which has yet to happen since I've come to Texas. Oy vey...

and that's life through the eyes of a banana munchkin.

"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."
Hebrews 13:5b

Jump!

I just realized that I didn't post last night...wow, weird! It wasn't even that eventful of a day. I woke up, did some homework, went to the gym, did some more homework...and then Sean came back from camp!! Yay! :) I'm so glad. We talked for a bit, but he had stuff to do, and I had stuff to do. I still didn't finish all my homework though. I've got a bit more left to do. Ay yay yay.

Oh, so last night I was walking the dog and besides all the little beetles trying to stay in the light, jumping and buzzing around, I saw a toad in the middle of the sidewalk. Again!! It's crazy. It's not the first time. There must be frogs and toads living in a nearby pond or something cuz it happens almost every night. Sadly though, they don't jump. The beetles do more jumping. And one night I even saw a turtle!! Weird huh? It was in someone's driveway.

Anyways...I've come to the conclusion that Dallas is a weird place. But I kinda like it; except the heat that is. And that's life through the eyes of a banana munchkin.

Consume me

That's what the cookies are saying to me right now. Yup, that's right. I made a whole batch of delicious, gooey, chocolate chip cookies!! Sadly, though, there's nobody here to share them with :( Oh well. More for me!! haha. But there's something about them that's weird. they're too perfect looking. Maybe it's the butter. It's usually not quite so soft when we make cookies at home. But that's probably cuz the butter the family buys here comes in a tub, so it's already softer than sticks of butter back home. oh well. regardless, they're still pretty good (if i do say so myself tehehe). but with all the cookies i've eaten today, i decided to work extra hard at the gym today. it was well worth it. as much as i hate running on the treadmill, especially at 7mph for a half hour, the feeling of accomplishment afterwards is well worth it.

Well, I'm all alone this weekend. Again. But I've got some plans I suppose. Going to the gym, the library, maybe the pool. I've got stuff to buy at Target, and I wanna go to a new church on sunday. And man, I've been craving mexican food like no other! So I looked up some mexican food places in the area, and there's one i'm considering going to after church on sunday. Cuz that's what sundays are about, right? Going to church and treating yourself to a nice, delicious lunch :)

Well friends, my life isn't all that exciting. It's hot, humid, somewhat lonely, and going at a weird pace. And that is life through the eyes of a banana munchkin.

I wanna dance with somebody

It's true. I definitely do. And watching So You Think You Can Dance doesn't help me with all that in the least. Every time I watch that show I wanna take dance lessons, make dancing my workout...all that fun stuff. Oh work outs...I didn't have a car today. Well, I did, but the back windshield is broken so I didn't think taking the car to the gym would be the safest thing to do. So I decided to figure something out to do at the house. And guess what? They have P90X here! So I did their kickboxing DVD and it was so fun! I haven't had that much fun working out in a while. Well, not to say that I don't have fun when I do work out, but it was so fun it didn't even seem like working out. And that's what dancing is. Unfortunately the only kinda dancing I've done lately is play Just Dance 2 on the Wii haha.

Anyways, as fun as dancing can be on the Wii, it's not as fun as it is with other people around. Maybe once the kids get here we'll get to play together! That'd be nice.

And that's life through the eyes of a banana munchkin.

Help!!

Turns out the storm last night was a hail storm...I realized this when I was awoken from my sleep at 2:30AM thinking "Wow, this is loud rain! the rain drops have gotta be huge!!" but after listening for a while and hearing the loud pounding, I came to the conclusion that it had to be hail. That, of course, sent my mind racing. I know that tornadoes come with hail. I know that there's usually no rain with tornadoes. I couldn't tell whether there was rain with the hail or only hail. I'm in Texas. Extremely flat, and very likely to get tornadoes. And the wind is blowing like crazy right now! Oh geez, they don't have a basement. There are no cellars. What am I gonna do? I'll jump in the tub (cuz apparently that works?)! After psyching myself out for an extremely long time I prayed that the house stayed intact and that none of us were harmed. Then I decided to sing to myself cuz that usually helped me calm down. The first song that came to my mind was an old hymn -- you are my all in all. So I sang that for as long as I can remember; basically 'til I fell asleep. Needless to say, it was an exciting night. I woke up this morning to the sounds of shop vacs being used all over the neighborhood. Windows had been broken everywhere. The office downstairs got a broken window, the Cain's new car had some pretty bad damage from the golf-ball sized hail (yikes!), trees had been shredded, leaving their leaves on the ground (haha that's a pun!!). And almost every time I answered the door there was a roof repair person or a window repair person standing there with a flyer or business card, making small talk, trying to get me to hire them. Lucky for me, I'm not the owner of the house so I'd take their paper and kindly send them away.

The rest of the day was highly uneventful. I watched Friends, The Office, did some Sudoku puzzles, and I'm now finishing up Robin Cook's Godplayer which is soooooo good and so frightening at the same time! Probably not the best book to be reading in yet another rainstorm. And it actually is rain this time. But if it turns out to be hail, I'll be expecting company in my room (aka Becca, the dog and the cat who were apparently all terrified last night haha). AND I now know to lay in the bathtub if there's a tornado. A concept I still find extremely weird.

And that is life through the eyes of a banana munchkin, in tornado-land :)

Singing in the Rain

Okay, so it wasn't raining when I was singing. But I was in the shower and singing at the same time, does that count?? :)

I don't get Texas. It's so hot during the day with not a cloud in sight, but then all of a sudden there are thunderstorms at night. I'm not complaining. I LOVE thunderstorms. The sound of the rain hitting the roof, the feel and sound of thunder shaking the entire house and rattling the windows, and the flashes of lightning that you can see even with your eyes shut. I love it. They bring me back to Slovakia summer days, usually some 2 weeks in July when it would rain every single day. It was wonderful. My room was in the primary spot for listening to the wonderfulness of the storms (aka the attic -- no, seriously). I just loved listening to it all. It was a comforting sound that helped me fall asleep. And even when the storms were loud and kinda scary, I was never really afraid. I always remembered various verses that God would protect me and be my refuge in stormy times (or actual storms), like Isaiah 25:4; "for you have been a defense for the helpless, a defense for the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat..." I'm reminded of it right now cuz the dog is terrified of storms. It's kinda funny actually, but I feel bad for Fenn (the dog). He's whimpering and shaking and walking low to the ground with his ears back. Poor little guy :(

To sum up, I love storms. They're fantastic. They're at the top of my list for favorite things; along with raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. Oh my...see? Told ya! I'm singing in the rain :)

And THAT, my friends, is life through the eyes of a banana munchkin.

Speak to me

Rebecca St. James put it best in this song of hers. I had this revelation today about prayer and myself. Even though I pray every day, I read my Bible every night, and I even listen to good, inspirational Christian music, I realized that a lot of my prayers are shallow. And they don't last long. Not as in I pray for 5 seconds and I'm done. It's more like, I notice myself praying only a few times a day. When really, I should be praying constantly, without ceasing! according to 1 Thessalonians 5:17.

My original goal for the summer was to strengthen my relationship with the Lord. To learn what it means to be walking with Him, to pray without ceasing, to learn from His word, and to not get enough. So far, my mission is a failure. Good thing I've still got 8 weeks, no scratch that, I've got the REST OF MY LIFE to figure that all out. And I can only move forward from this point.

God???

Thanks, Rebecca St. James, for reminding me of my mission.

That's life through the eyes of a banana munchkin...for now.

I gotta feeling...

...that this next week is gonna be boring. Man, I just need to find another job for now! Or go to the pool more often. Something to keep me busy. Oh, so I was so desperate to find books to read that I used one of the boys' library cards to check a few out. Yeah, I'm pretty smart like that ;) I checked out 4 books: A Body in the Library by Agatha Christie, The Nine Tailors by Dorothy Sayers, Godplayer by Robin Cook, and Soupy Saturdays with the Pain and the Great by Judy Blume. They're due in 3 weeks, but I'm not worried about that cuuuuuuz I definitely read the Agatha Christie book in 5 hours haha. Now THAT is what I call a relaxing day. I would've gone to the pool to read, but I thought the fam was getting back this afternoon. turns out they won't get here til 3 or 4 am...oy vey. Luckily I don't have to wait up for them.

Nothing new to report really...oh, the cat eats more dog food than the dog does haha. No wonder she's so fat! I don't get it. I'm still not a huge fan of her, but oh well. At least I don't have to live with her for the rest of my life (thank you Lord!). Just a couple months.

Well, that's life through the eyes of a banana munchkin.

.........maybe it'll storm tonight.
and yes, that is star wars on TV behind me :)

you can't always get what you want...

...it's sad, but true. I finished my book this morning, which made me both sad and excited. Sad cuz now I don't have a book to read. But excited cuz it meant I could go to the public library and borrow one! So I had planned out my entire day. Or afternoon, rather. I would go to the library, find a good book or two, go to the gym, and then afterwards go to the pool and relax with my book or in the water. Whichever! Both! I get to the library and go to sign up for a card. So the lady asks for my address and ID and what not, I tell her the address here but my driver's license is California. Unfortunately, I'm not able to get a library card here unless there's something mailed to me at this address. I should've figured!!! So my nice relaxing day at the pool didn't happen. Oh well. I got to talk to sean on Skype! Always a nice thing :)

Oh, and I also found out that the boys I'm nannying are spending next week with their dad. And my employers (Matt and Becca) are both out of town from June 23rd til the 27th. Which means I'm on pet duty again. Ugh...Oh well, I'm sure it'll be fine. One more lonely week until I'm overwhelmed with 5 kids running around. Guess I should enjoy the peace and quiet while I can!

So is the life through the eyes of a banana munchkin.

Best of Friends

Another day another dollar. It's been a nice day. Very relaxing, which is something I haven't been getting much of lately. After a not so very restful night, filled with the dog whining by the bed and the cat slapping at my feet and biting my forearm (not so fun!), I woke up at 5:20 to a good night phone call from Sean...meaning that he was going to bed at that time. After a brief chat, I couldn't fall back asleep until 7:30, but by then my alarm was just about to go off. Oy vey! Reluctantly I got up, got dressed, fed the cat and walked the dog, at breakfast and read my book for a few hours. I think the busiest part of the day was when I went to the gym for a couple hours. I love going to the gym :) It's wonderful and makes me feel so happy afterwards.

After my "busy" morning, I spent my entire afternoon talking to Sean. It's great, being able to talk to my best friend and never get tired of it. As weird as it may sound, we just never seem to run out of things to talk about. You really can tell how good of a friend someone is when it comes to phone conversations...cuz those are the most awkward ones to have. So, knowing that we can talk about absolutely anything and everything, I can honestly say that we are the best of friends!

And that is life through the eyes of a banana munchkin.

Stone in Love

Yes, that is a title of a Journey song. I love Journey. Their music is inspiring. It makes me wanna sing so loud my lungs hurt. It makes me wanna dance so hard my pants fall off (well, not literally). But most of all, their lyrics are so interesting and true.

This past week has been somewhat depressing. The family I'm nannying for left for Disney World for a week (boo) without ME (boo hoo!!) and left me to care for their annoying cat who constantly wants to eat, and their dog who cares for nothing more than to play fetch with 1 of his 13 slobbery slimey tennis balls. Yeah. Thankfully I'm a member of a gym, I have books to read AND they hooked me up with a babysitting gig right next door. Convenient, right? Yeah, I thought so too! But, sadly, that's over with. And I was gonna get a massage this week, but realized that I have no money for that. Even with the discount I get for being a gym member. Ugh...

Anyways, I've come to realize that I'm extremely pathetic. I've been apart from my boyfriend and best friend, Sean Patrick Hogan, for just over a week and it feels like it's been months. Every time we say good night or good bye on the phone I get so sad. Every night I wish I could be in San Diego. Every night I wonder whether I made the right choice in coming to Texas. Yeah, it's fun being a nanny and all. Yeah, it's good pay. But is money really worth being apart from the person I am STONE IN LOVE with? Definitely not. Alas, there's nothing I can do about it now except pray that God makes the time go by so fast that I don't realize what's happening.

That, sadly, is currently life through the eyes of a banana munchkin.
And with that, my friends, I'm off to bed.

Banana Munchkin? What?

Haha, well, that would be me. And this is my blog. I'm Hannah, or Hannah Banana as I'm often called. And Munchkin is a nickname given to me by my dear old daddy quite some time ago.

I've never blogged before. It's gonna be a new experience for me, so just hang with me here. Although I go to school in San Diego, live in San Diego, have friends in San Diego, and have my family in Phoenix, I'm spending my summer in Lantana, TX. It's a small community outside of Dallas/ Fort Worth. Why? you ask. It's simple. I needed a summer job before being done with school, and I got a nanny job out here. Third year in a row! Crazy...so this blog is gonna be my life as of right now, as a nanny in Lantana, TX.

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I hope to enjoy writing it.